This invention relates to an improved hull design for small watercraft and more particularly to a hull design that improves stability, reduces resistance and which affords better handling.
The hull of a watercraft must serve a plurality of generally inconsistent functions in connection with its dynamic characteristics. That is, the hull should be capable of providing very low resistance to forward travel so as to improve the performance of the vehicle in a straight line without necessitating large powering engines. However, at the same time, the hull design should provide good stability of the watercraft when traveling in a straight line.
Somewhat inconsistent with the straight line performance requirements, the hull should also be capable of permitting the watercraft to be maneuvered sharply and without a large degree of side to side rolling. Furthermore, it is desirable to permit some side to side rolling of the watercraft in order to improve its buoyancy and turning ability, however, the watercraft should be stable and not capable of being easily capsized when making sharp maneuvers.
A particularly popular type of small watercraft is of the type that is designed to handle primarily a single rider and which the rider operates in a swimming suit or wetsuit due to the sporting nature of the watercraft. The very compact nature and small size of this type of watercraft aggravates the problems in hull design as already described.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved hull design for a watercraft that will increase stability and handling. It is a further object of the invention to provide a hull design that will offer low resistance when running in a straight ahead direction but also which will have high stability in this mode of operation.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a hull design that permits abrupt maneuvering and good handling without adversely affecting the running in a straight ahead direction.